with 🎙️ Ann Perreault - Vice President for Strategic Marketing & Growth at Evoqua Water Technologies  with 🎙️ Joshua Griffis - Director of Technology & Innovation at Evoqua Water Technologies  💧 Evoqua is a global leader in helping municipalities and industrial customers protect and improve the world's most fundamental natural resource: water What we covered: 💧 How net water positivity is the new gold standard, making a splash beyond just offsetting usage to actively generating more water.  🤝 Why strategic IP development safeguards the partnerships Evoqua is building in the industry, making it more than just a game of patents.  📈 What the real playbook behind Evoqua's acquisitions reveals: it's not just R&D expenditure but a broader, synergistic growth strategy.  🤝 How synergy supercharges tech: Joshua and Ann discuss that when two technologies collide, they often create something greater than their individual parts.  🎯 What every water business needs to grasp: Customer needs are like shifting sands, and understanding emerging trends and problems is key to hitting the target, says Ann.  📈 Why mergers and acquisitions aren't just Wall Street buzzwords: M&A is woven into Evoqua's strategy as a critical channel for forging significant partnerships, according to both interviewees.  🌍 How Evoqua's footprint is more global than you think: Contrary to popular belief, Ann implies Evoqua's global presence is often underestimated.  🔍 Why profitability is not an end but a means for Evoqua, enabling them to engage in ambitious, industry-shaping initiatives.  💡 How innovation is the new black: Ann emphasizes that sustainability isn't a sideshow; it's the main act, embedded at the core of impactful innovations.  🎯 Why "de-risking" is your new buzzword: Both speakers agree that helping companies "de-risk" by doing the heavy lifting on feasibility and validation can fast-track adoption.  🤔 What failing fast really means at Evoqua: If you're not failing, you're not learning—this mantra isn't just for startups; it's infiltrating the big players too.  📊 How the Product Vitality Index is your new KPI: Forget conventional metrics; Ann suggests that measuring where your revenue comes from in terms of innovation investment is where the future lies.  🎯 How customer insights aren't a one-and-done deal: Diving deep to truly understand customer problems can reveal the nuanced layers beneath.  🌍 Why location flexibility enriches talent pools: restricting staff to physical locations is yesterday's news, says Perreault, when a world of talent is just a Zoom call away.  📈 What scaling your operation really takes: The journey of scaling a function often throws more curveballs than you initially thought.  🌿 Why sustainability is more than a buzzword: it's about achieving homeostasis with your environment for the long haul, not just slapping a green label on things. 🔥 ... and of course, we concluded with the 𝙧𝙖𝙥𝙞𝙙 𝙛𝙞𝙧𝙚 𝙦𝙪𝙚𝙨𝙩𝙞𝙤𝙣𝙨 🔥 🔗 Have a look at Evoqua's website  🔗 Come say hi to Ann on Linkedin  🔗 Then make sure to also connect with Joshua on Linkedin ➡️ Check out the entire article on how Evoqua applies Open Innovation  ➡️ Reach out to me: antoine@dww.show 

Open Innovation is not the only link between last week's conversation with Max Storto from the Xylem Innovation Labs, and this week's deep dive with Ann and Joshua. Indeed, in just a minute, we'll delve into a paradigm-shifting model we touched on last week: Open Innovation.  To ensure we have a common understanding of the term, Open Innovation fundamentally alters how companies think about their innovation process. If you remember my conversation with Glenn Vicevic from Veolia, he defined Open Innovation as Innovation that's not closed. We had a good laugh, still, it's true: the Idea is to break open the former R&D silos, to enter the age of porous boundaries and shading frontiers, where external ideas and technologies flow into the organization, and internal ideas flow out into the broader ecosystem. Long before this got to be a thing in the Water Sector, we've seen companies like Procter & Gamble, flipping their R&D approach to connect with external innovators. They sourced ideas from around the globe, leading to breakthroughs like the Swiffer.  To take a more techie reference, consider how Apple's App Store empowers an army of developers to build upon iOS, creating value for both Apple and the broader user community. It's a win-win scenario, optimizing resources, and accelerating market-ready solutions. But why is this a pivotal discussion for the water sector? Open Innovation could be the key to unlocking new technologies, sustainable practices, and financial models that address pressing water issues - you know, the ones that just got evaluated as a multi-trillion dollars business opportunity by CDP - if you missed that one, go check my YouTube channel for more.  But for you listening to this, why does all of that matter: well, companies that successfully adopt Open Innovation practices could leapfrog in growth and impact. They could be faster to ride trend waves, have a more efficient use of their capital, put technology adoption on steroids, and if you're a regular of this podcast, you know how that's the game changer. Hence if, for sure, everything can't be painted in pink, and silver bullets still don't exist, getting a glimpse of the way Evoqua leveraged open innovation strategies to inspire your own innovation approaches is quite a generous gift from Ann and Joshua, which really didn't hold back when it comes to sharing.  You'll leave this episode understanding the vital metrics and benchmarks to assess Open Innovation opportunities, as well as actionable tips for investors, in-house strategists, and entrepreneurs keen to leverage this model before it becomes an industry norm. Remember, if you appreciate the value shared today and for free, you can help me out tremendously by sharing this episode with a friend, a colleague, your boss, or your team, if you're new here make sure to subscribe, I insist, it's entirely free, and it helps me to keep getting incredible guests on that microphone. Last word before we take off, if you're in New York on the 19th of September and you like free sharing of incredible water value, you may want to join the Rethinking Water Conference at the Forum at Columbia University, the link is in the description, and I'll be there the entire day to record some more interviews. Come share a recycled wastewater beer with me in the evening, and I'll meet you on the other side! ➡️ Check out the entire article on how Evoqua deployed Open Innovation to turn the tides!

with 🎙️ xStorto - Lead Innovation Analyst at Xylem Innovation Labs  💧 Xylem is one of the largest water and wastewater technology companies globally and follows the simple motto: "Let's solve water" What we covered: 🤝 How the Xylem Innovation Labs explore partnerships with early-stage technology providers to enhance offerings and improve portfolio stacks  🚀 What the main tracks within Xylem Innovation Lab entail, from the commercial accelerator focusing on client growth to the early-stage incubation program and open innovation ecosystem targeting specific water-related issues.  ⚽ How Max likens his role in scouting potential technology providers to a talent scout in sports, seeking the most promising innovations that align with Xylem's capabilities and customer challenges.  🌍 What main challenges Xylem's customers face, such as decarbonizing the water sector, industrial treatment solutions, decentralized treatment, and addressing contaminants of emerging concern like PFAS and microplastics.  🌊 Why Xylem is looking into areas like digital workforce solutions and flooding issues, aiming to find innovative ways to address these significant concerns in the water management industry.  🎙️ How Max Storto's dynamic and multifaceted role at Xylem brings both planned goals and unexpected chaos into his daily life.  🗳️ Why political work with the Iowa Democratic Party led Max to engage in grassroots conversations, touching on critical water issues in both local and federal contexts.  🚰 How the state of water networks in the U.S., including boiling water notices, reflects challenges in infrastructure investment, public awareness, and income inequality.  📊 How Xylem Innovation Labs aggregates customer-facing team information, interprets data, and involves business units to prioritize decisions, fostering a united approach.  🚀 What makes Xylem's accelerator program unique: sourcing from grants, accelerators, internal recommendations, VCs, and conferences and inviting companies to apply, ensuring a focused approach to innovation.  🤝 Why Xylem's relationship-building with startups is key: no equity taken, a mutual NDA, building trust, and aiming for long-term commercial agreements to foster a truly collaborative partnership.  🚀 What distinguishes Xylem's process of carefully select from 3 to 400 invitations, leading to 40-50 applications for a handpicked 10-count accelerator cohort, ensuring alignment with innovation priorities.  🧠 How Max's role as a market analyst at Xylem intertwines with engineering teams, aiding in financial analysis and business case development for revenue projections.  🌍 What the Xylem Innovation Labs' role in global R&D is, including their part of the R&D package, and how they complement the company's existing product development efforts.  🌱 How innovation with impact at Xylem is characterized by a focus on sustainability metrics and diversity and their efforts in alleviating water challenges and reducing carbon footprints.  👔 Oxford Collar, Decentralized Work Environment, fostering long-term growth, mutual trust and partnership, commercialization over investment, selling solutions vs taking equity... and much more!  🔥 ... and of course, we concluded with the 𝙧𝙖𝙥𝙞𝙙 𝙛𝙞𝙧𝙚 𝙦𝙪𝙚𝙨𝙩𝙞𝙤𝙣𝙨 🔥 🔗 Come say hi to Max on LinkedIn   🔗 Check Xylem Innovation Website's website  ➡️ Check out the entire article on Xylem's weirdest move  ➡️ Reach out to me: antoine@dww.show  Suggested episodes: 🚀 My interview with Sivan Zamir  🔋 My conversation with Austin Alexander  👔 My short catch up with Patrick Decker 

Max Storto is Lead Innovation Analyst at the Xylem Innovation Labs. Xylem is one of the largest water and wastewater technology company globally and follows the simple motto: "Let's solve water" A bit more than one year ago, I invited Sivan Zamir on this microphone to discuss the Xylem Innovation Labs, Xylem's shiny, fascinating, and intriguing move into the start-up accelerator world. That has been a well-received episode but also one that sparked quite a lot of conversations.  You know, Xylem is a listed behemoth; everybody is well aware that they have to make money! So when they mention that they will help water industry companies to 10x their customer base, that they will fund pilots with the Trial Reservoir and fund other water accelerators with, for instance, Imagine H2O, it not only raises an eyebrow but also generates a ton of questions. And usually a very logical deduction: of course, they will have a great positive impact on these companies' path, but they will also reward themselves by taking stakes and equity in these companies, hence turning a pretty straightforward positive return on investment.  Now that's where it gets even more intriguing, because, in my process of getting a better understanding of the mechanics of the Xylem Innovation Labs with its scout, Max, I actually uncovered something we had not discussed at all with Sivan last year: Xylem doesn't take any equity in its incubated partners. Zero. And it doesn't stop there: they don't even expect these companies to be exclusive or tied to Xylem in anything beyond a simple NDA - which is merely more there to protect the start-ups than the water giant.  So, for a layman like me, it's hard to get the strategic sense of that move. Until you shift your internal software and realize that what Xylem is pursuing with its Innovation Labs is not investment, it's R&D. And a bit like in a Google versus Apple approach you would see in tech, their bet here is that adopting an open innovation strategy, is actually the most impactful and the best use of their money for the water ecosystem, yes, because I believe Patrick Decker when he tells me he wants his company to have a positive impact, but also the best path to growth for Xylem itself! And a bit like the App or Play Stores have been great growth factors for Apple and Google, Xylem's future partnerships with the companies it strategically groomed may be significant commercial assets in a world of water challenges that are not getting easier or simpler. You'll see that this is just one of the many gems we uncovered while opening the hood and exploring the Xylem Innovation Labs engine with Max, Max who, by the way, has been an incredible sparring partner able to cope with great openness with my sometimes annoying wittiness, I had great fun to record this one, so I'll stop ranting and let you have great fun listening to it.  ➡️ Check out the entire article on how to grow 10 wonder kids from 5 to 50 customers

with 🎙️ Alice Schmidt, MBA lecturer, Adviser to the European Commission, and non-profit organizations like Extinction Rebellion, Protect our Winters, and Chair of the Board of Endeva e.V.  with 🎙️ Claudia Winkler, CEO, and co-founder of Goood Mobile, Europe's first B-Corp Certified telecom provider, and a Founding Partner of Adjacent Possible Network.  💧 Alice and Claudia had been with us for their first book "the Sustainability Puzzle," and are back for an in-depth exploration of the AI world and its potential impact on Societal Progress and a Sustainable Future. This is the topic of their second book: Fast Forward, written with Florian Schütz and Jeroen Dobbelaere. What we covered: 📚 How Alice and Claudia's "Sustainability Puzzle" hit the zeitgeist by guiding both sustainability newbies and experts through the multifaceted realm of eco-responsibility. 🔬 Why their new book, "Fast Forward," hones in on technology, one of the six puzzle pieces from their first book, to spotlight its transformative potential for sustainability. 🤖 What Claudia sees as the agnostic nature of technology and why Alice casts a skeptical eye on the good intentions behind big tech,  🎯 How both authors urge active participation in shaping AI's direction, suggesting that collective input could steer technology towards a more equitable and sustainable future. 🤖 How Alice and Claudia disagree on the role of tools like ChatGPT, revealing a tension between AI as a utilitarian augmenter versus a potential risk to trust.  🌐 Why both emphasize AI literacy, advocating for the masses to engage with tools like ChatGPT in order to make well-informed decisions.   🚀 Why ChatGPT's viral success is likened to the smartphone revolution, ushering in mass-market adoption of AI technologies and sparking important societal debates. 🎓 How Schools Aren't Necessarily the AI Saviors and What Lifelong Learning Means in the AI Age 🚨 How AI Could Be Its Own Worst Enemy and Why Big Tech Needs a Leash:  🤖 How AI's Multifaceted Analysis Outsmarts Human Limitations 💼 Why Regulations Don't Suffocate Innovation, They Guide It. 🤑 How Money Talks, Even for AI 🌱 Optimism in the AI-Ecology Nexus 🤖 How AI is personalizing Claudia's life and revolutionizing smart cities, making them more livable and sustainable.  🌊 What Tuvalu's digital twin reveals: a poignant, almost meta response to climate-induced existential threats that also sheds light on the term "ecological racism."  🎯 Why stepping into the AI world varies by individual: It's all about awareness, understanding the bigger picture, and leveraging a human-centered approach for universal benefit.  🗳️ How the democratization of AI and active participation in decision-making could be a marker for Alice Schmidt's vision of positive societal impact. 🤖 Why Technology is Finally Joining the Sustainability Conversation: Claudia is optimistic about the growing convergence between sustainability and technology agendas, indicating a maturing landscape. 📖 Claudia's 14-year-old son's ChatGPT book, Parents being the Unsung Heroes in AI Education, Neom as a double-sided sword, Betting big on Circularity, Playing the Long Game with Conferences... and much more! 🔥 ... and of course, we concluded with the 𝙧𝙖𝙥𝙞𝙙 𝙛𝙞𝙧𝙚 𝙦𝙪𝙚𝙨𝙩𝙞𝙤𝙣𝙨 🔥 ➡️ Send your warm regards to Alice on LinkedIn  ➡️ Then do the same with Claudia on LinkedIn as well  ➡️ Get to know the two new brains that worked on "Fast Forward:" Jeroen and Florian ➡️ Check out the entire article on AI prompting a Sustainable Future    ➡️ Reach out to me: antoine@dww.show 

Here's the secret: I'm not a one-man band. Yes, I lied all that time. Did you really believe I could push a podcast interview out every week for 163 weeks in a row, all by myself? Of course not. The Don't Waste Water Corporation is a hefty team of 22. But here's the catch: I'm the only human. Let me introduce you to my crew. First, there's my editing manager, a robot called Descript. In his AI team, we've got the Scribe, which turns all my recordings into text. Pretty standard so far, but it becomes swiftly cooler with the Grammar Maniac. If I record this: "So, what's the uh, name of your book?" The Maniac identifies the filler words and gets them out of the way.  In that same team, the Chopper chops out every word, and so if I were to say something as stupid as: Colmar is not the nicest place on earth, I just have to select the wrong word as you'd do in your text editor, and delete it. Job done! The work is then handed over to the Audio Engineer. Because sometimes a guest or me, may record on a poor microphone or noisy environment. And you certainly don't want to hear what a poor microphone or noisy environment sounds like. In more difficult cases I escalate it to Adobe Enhance Beta. And in last resort to iZotope's Neutron or Ozone Smart Assistants.  Back to Descript: the Audio Engineer has a quite dangerous colleague I very seldom use, but if needs be, I can emulate any voices and have them say whatever I want. For instance, here are two sentences from Alice. Can you find out which one really belongs to today's interview?  Now, this is for sure an audio podcast, but also a YouTube video. And would you like to watch me speaking if I avoided any eye contact with you? Well, if that was ever to happen, I'd be just one click away from having the rectifier bring back my eyes where they should be. Yes, that one is a bit scary.  What if I lean back a bit too much in my chair and go out of focus? Topaz AI brings me back to sharpness.  And what if I stumble? No wait. And what if I stumble? Not the right dynamic. And what if I stumble? Gling automatically picks my best take! Then, if I want to lure you into listening to a great interview, I can say it. But if I say it with subtitles, statistics say you're more likely to follow my advice. That's Captionator's job.  And while I record horizontally, getting the word out is more efficient in Vertical mode - but nothing to worry Final Cut's AI always prompts my best profile. And if I don't have time to edit the best quotes myself, OpusClip does it for me! A cool episode needs a cool title: My ideas are not always top-notch thankfully, Coschedule loves to rate them and propose improvements. While YouTube requires me to provide at least a decent thumbnail to distribute my content, I often have a hard time finding a relevant picture or illustration to promote a water or lithium topic. In these cases, I ask MidJourney for a solid basis and Photoshop Beta for added context.  Finally, while TrueSync, ColorLab AI, Insta 360 Studio, Leia Pix AI, and many I'm probably forgetting here have been sporadic members of the team but didn't stick in the long run, I've recently hired ChatGPT to compile the key episode highlights you'll find in the show notes and on the Don't Waste Water website.  Last but not least, all my English copy is written in Grammarly, which detects that "English" should take a capital letter. Yes, I know, you don't hear my grammar mistakes, so why bother? Well, my prospective guests have to read my emails first, and you only have one chance to make a good first impression. Why do I tell you all of that? First don't worry, if you were to use any of these tools, I wouldn't get a cent. This wasn't an ad with extra steps. No, I'm telling you that to highlight one of the ideas Claudia and Alice develop in their new book: AI may be neither a threat nor a waste, but used right, a way to enhance humans. 

with 🎙️ Saad Dara - CEO and Founder of Mangrove Lithium  💧 Mangrove Lithium produces battery-grade lithium hydroxide or carbonate from a wide array of raw sources What we covered: 🔄 How Mangrove Lithium, initially focusing on water treatment and desalination, found the ideal product-market fit within the lithium industry.  ♻️ How the circularity of chemicals, environmental benefits, and potential for zero-emission processes play a crucial role in Mangrove's approach to lithium conversion.  🌀 How Saad Dara spun the company out in 2017, completing his PhD in 2020, and is on the path to commercialization, aiming to co-locate and operate systems with lithium production companies.  🚀 How the simplicity and flexibility of their operations sets them apart, with the ability to change feedstock and product quickly, offering more choices in a volatile lithium market.  🛠️ How their secret sauce lies not in membranes but in the cathode, providing unique value in energy consumption and purity, a major differentiator in the industry.  🔄 Why their approach appeals to both small and large producers, offering a standardized, modular system that fits various scales, potentially serving as a cooperative refining platform.  🌏 What makes them stand out in the global market is the possibility of bringing lithium refining to regions like North America and Europe, potentially altering the current China-dominated landscape.  🔋 How their technology could redefine the lithium market by being a perfect fit for cooperative refining, an innovative model that could support smaller players as they grow.  📐 How modularity in plant design allows flexibility, optimizing both CAPEX and OPEX, from 3000 to 15,000 tons per year, and the thoughtful combination of modules based on needs.  🤝 Why taking a holistic and consultative approach to the supply chain, working side by side with partners, leads to a more successful and optimized process.  🌋 What differentiates the company's electrochemical approach from other market players like Vulcan, and why their system is simpler and safer to operate.  📈 How focusing on demonstrating a 3000 tons per year system can remove market skepticism, and why operating at a commercially relevant scale and time period is crucial.  💡 Why strong backing by BMW iVentures and Breakthrough Energy Ventures highlights confidence and credibility in the company's innovative approach - and how Bill Gates is cool (ok, I'm the one adding this)  🤖 What makes Mangrove’s “boxes” unique and how they are working to prove their efficiency and effectiveness in real-world applications.  🎤 How the conversation unveils the company's vision, backing, synergies, and future plans, providing a multi-dimensional insight into the world of lithium processing and innovation.  🏢 How Lithium Valley emerged I coin a term for Vancouver's status as the lithium company capital, with a mystery Saad chalks up to community development.  🤝 What makes competitors collaborators: Saad discusses the complementary fit between Saltworks and Mangrove Lithium, shedding a competitive light on the cooperative spirit of the industry.  📈 How to get started with Mangrove Lithium 🎤 What makes the flexible model appealing: Saad explains Mangrove's customizable models for providing technology or production services, reflecting the company's adaptability in the growing lithium industry.  ♻️ Why all lithium sources are vital 🔥 ... and of course, we concluded with the 𝙧𝙖𝙥𝙞𝙙 𝙛𝙞𝙧𝙚 𝙦𝙪𝙚𝙨𝙩𝙞𝙤𝙣𝙨 🔥 🔗 Come say hi to Saad on LinkedIn  🔗 Check Mangrove Lithium's website ➡️ Check out the entire article on how Mangrove Lithium is a Jewel in Bill Gates' crown   ➡️ Reach out to me: antoine@dww.show 

Saad Dara is the CEO and Founder of Mangrove Lithium. Mangrove Lithium develops an innovative approach to Lithium Refining which is using electrochemical processes to reach battery grade from diverse raw sources.  The decarbonization of our World oftentimes resembles a set of Russian Dolls. First, we needed electric cars, so the manufacturers started shifting their internal combustion lines to EV ones. Then, batteries were on the critical path, so the World frantically built Gigafactories. As a result, Lithium became the bottleneck, and over the next decade, we'll try to catch up. But in doing so, we may well bump into the next problem: missing chemicals. Don't roll your eyes too fast: I do know that Soda Ash, for instance, is pretty commonplace and shouldn't be an issue. Except if you are in the middle of the high Andes, and especially on the Argentinan side, where dozens of junior lithium companies are currently cutting their teeth.  If you don't have enough Soda Ash, you can't refine your Lithium Chloride to Carbonate, and why is that a problem, well, that means you have to truck large volumes of concentrated brines away, and reach a place where chemicals are available. Not a big deal? Well, except if you compound in the absence of paved roads around most of the Salars that will enter into production in the next years, or simply the fact that bringing a truck up to an altitude of over 4'000 meters is not that easy.  While I was up in Olaroz, Cachi, and Jama, I crossed two different trucks in two different places that had rolled over onto the side of the road. So again, I'd say, not a piece of cake. But if evaporation ponds are so efficient in the high Andes, it's, of course, thanks to widely available solar energy. Something energy companies start to leverage by installing solar farms. So what if it were possible to use that electrical energy right where it's produced, to refine the concentrated brines that evaporation ponds output into battery-grade carbonate or hydroxide?  Well, some companies have started to explore that electrochemical road, and you would have guessed, that's where Mangrove Lithium is focusing.  Their technology was born as a water treatment and desalination play, yet the ideal product-market fit seems to rather be in the lithium industry - once again, a proof of the high porosity between those two worlds.  Let me avoid spoiling you all of my conversation with Saad Dara, but what I can already tell you is that we had good fun recording, I hope you'll enjoy it as well, if you do, please remember to take that episode and share it with a friend, a colleague, your boss or your team, wherever you're listening or watching that, make sure to like and subscribe, and I'll meet you on the other side! ➡️ Check out the entire article on how Mangrove Lithium is the Jewel in Bill Gates' crown on the (don't) Waste Water website!

with 🎙️ Glenn Vicevic - CTO at Veolia Water Technologies & Solutions  💧 Veolia WTS provides Industry-leading water technology and process expertise to solve the toughest water, wastewater, and process challenges What we covered: 💦 Why the Membrane Filtration Sector is a Thrilling Space and What's to learn from its evolution across the past three decades  🏭 What it Takes to Drive Innovation in the Water Industry and what we can learn from A Peek Inside Veolia's R&D  💼 How Building a Career in Water Treatment Can Lead to Impactful Work, and what we learn from Glenn Vicevic's Journey from Zenon to Veolia through GE Water and SUEZ, all without switching company  🌍 Why The World Should be Paying More Attention to the Role of Water in Climate Change (and How)  🧑‍🔬 How Researchers are still Pushing the Boundaries in Membrane Science - and how the next big thing seems to revolve around MABRs   🚰 What Veolia's Smart Water System Teaches Us About the Future of Water Management  📈 Why Veolia's ‘Digital Twin’ Could Be a Game Changer for the Water Sector - and to which extent  💼 How Veolia's Organizational Structure is Setting It Up for Future Success - in the packed context of a long M&A history, especially on the once Zenon part of the business  🏞️ Why Zenon's Water Treatment Project in Indigenous Communities is an Unforgettable Experience  🚀 Glenn's special trick to Leap Out of His Comfort Zone to Drive Innovation at Veolia (and how you can apply this to your team TODAY)  📊 Why Traditional Wastewater Indicators May Not Be Enough in the Modern Age  🤝 How Collaboration and Communication are Vital for Success in the Water Sector: Lessons from Glenn Vicevic  👨‍💻 Remote Work, using your own medicine, micropollutants, micro-electronics, What Halloween and Water Treatment Have in Common, Stage and Gates, the high cost of failure as a Water Giant... and much more!  🔥 ... and of course, we concluded with the 𝙧𝙖𝙥𝙞𝙙 𝙛𝙞𝙧𝙚 𝙦𝙪𝙚𝙨𝙩𝙞𝙤𝙣𝙨 🔥 🔗 Come say hi to Glenn on LinkedIn  🔗 Check Veolia Water Technologies & Solutions' website ➡️ Check out the entire article on how the World's Largest Water Company fosters innovation  ➡️ Reach out to me: antoine@dww.show  Suggested episodes: 🚀 My interview with Glenn's first boss and founder of Zenon: Andrew Benedek  🔋 Glenn's colleague and Lithium Refining guru: Jim Rieke 

Glenn Vicevic s the CTO of Veolia Water Technologies and Solutions. Veolia WTS provides Industry-leading water technology and process expertise to solve the toughest water, wastewater, and process challenges. Innovation as a water start-up is an uphill battle. If you've ever listened to this podcast, we've covered that topic through many examples: you'll have to commit for years to decades to push your technology through, and it will require a lot of grit, persistence, confidence, and much more.  To describe that Sisyphus-worthy path, we've often taken a few examples on that microphone that illustrate well this entrepreneurship journey, and arguably the n°1 example is Zenon's story.  I guess we don't have to dive into the details here, because we did that extensively with the legendary Andrew Benedek, the founder of Zenon, when he was my guest about 15 months ago.  But Andrew's trajectory is just one of the possible outcomes. Grow your company until it's almost too big to stand alone, exit, and use your well-earned money to start again and strive to save the World.  Yet, when Zenon merged with GE Water, and Andrew Benedek went on to acquire Anaergia, Zenon's Technical Director stayed with the company, and kept growing with it, as it went on to merge with Suez and last but not least, Veolia. You would have guessed it, this former technical director is Glenn Vicevic, my guest today, and Veolia WTS's chief technical officer. And what's fascinating about today's conversation is that it gets us to understand the next part of a technological company's path. What do you have to do to stay on top of the game? How do innovation and R&D tick at a different pace and follow different rules once you're a water tech giant, compared to your early steps as an agile Start-Up. What's cooler than exploring the innovation engine of the World's largest water tech company? Let's find out, trust me, you'll get to love Glenn's openness and eagerness to share several nuggets. ➡️ Check out the entire article on how the World's Largest Water Company, Veolia, fosters innovation

🥗 Welcome to my garden, a lush green oasis thriving on an unexpected secret - human urine! In this video, I reveal my secret weapon for growing the greenest of gardens - Aurin, a fertilizer commercialized by VUNA, an Eawag start-up and derived from human urine. ♻️ Let's delve into why this natural nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium source is perfect for all gardeners.  (🚽 ...and let's explore the link between our toilets and our gardens and how redesigning one can revolutionize the other.) Does the nutrient cycle in your garden mean that soil becomes poorer over time?  That's our lucky day: our body evacuates essential nutrients through pee and poo, let's recycle them back into our gardens! We'll swiftly look at the fascinating history of human waste as fertilizer, its benefits, and its drawbacks. And, of course, learn about Aurin, a safe and efficient fertilizer produced by Vuna, an EAWAG spin-off. 🚾 I'll explain how urine-based fertilizers are an excellent example of a circular economy done right, making you an environmental superhero while feeding your strawberries. We'll also discuss feces management and how it differs from urine treatment. Finally, we'll look at how clever toilet design can separate urine from feces, enabling us to start our liquid fertilizer production journey. Join me in this exploration of sustainable gardening. Let's feed our gardens, not just our bodies, and turn our waste into wealth.  (this is not a sponsored video by any means, but hey, Vuna, if you want to sponsor me in the future... 😉) #Aurin #SustainableGardening #CircularEconomy #greenrevolution  00:00 The Secret of my Garden 00:13 An urine-based fertilizer 00:32 The rich content of human urine 01:29 Pay your Groceries with Urine! 01:50 Fertilizers feed the World 02:19 This is actually nothing new 02:55 Is it dangerous? 03:19 How is it made? 03:36 Archaic or Forward-Looking? 04:10 And what about the feces? 04:56 Shall we redesign our toilets? 05:42 Where to start your Circular Economy Journey? 06:15 And what about the energy trapped in Wastewater?

Are America’s water pipes broken? For millions of citizens across the country, it may seem so. The well-documented examples of Flint, Jackson, New Orleans, or Baltimore may well seem alarming. But in fact, they are just the tip of an iceberg that reveals more every day. The Water Crisis in America is not looming: it’s already there. Over the past year, I met with 20 subject matter experts to not only identify the problems but also come up with solutions. From academics to investors through politicians, water industry leaders, influencers, and NGOs, I spent months interviewing them, recouping their inputs, synthesizing their thoughts, connecting them to existing research, and enhancing it with dozens more insights I’ve collected over the years. The result is: 🎙️ The Full Synthesis you'll find here 📽️ This same piece in a monumental video piece right here  😮 The massive infographic – or cartoon – you'll find for free on the (don't) Waste Water website.  None of this was free to make, for sure, but it will be free for you to listen, watch, read, digest, and share forever. All I ask, if you find it of interest, is to spread the word! Share it on your social media, link to it from your websites, or recommend it to your colleagues and friends. Thanks for your help!

with 🎙️ Andreas Müller - CEO at GF  💧 GF is a sustainability and innovation leader aiming to provide superior customer value across three Divisions enabling the safe transport of liquids and gases, lightweight casting components, and high-precision manufacturing technologies. What we covered: 🔍 How a 222-Year-Old Company Innovates the secrets of GF and its three divisions  🚗 Why Lithium Production Needs a Leap Frog, How GF is Helping and which solution comes with the best odds  🌎 What Sustainability Means for Lithium Production and EVs, and GF's perspective to that challenge  💡 How Old Unicorns Interact with Cool Kids: GF's Approach to Startup Collaboration, and what it Takes to Lead a two-century old corporation  🤝 Why the Future of Lithium Production Hinges on Symbiotic Relationships between the various actors in the value chain  🌟 How GF's Strategy Aims to Balance Profitability and Environmental Impact and Why People are at the Heart of GF's Success  💼 Why a 'Startup Spirit' is Crucial in Large Corporations and what lessons from GF you can apply in your own business  🎯 What the Key Success Factors in Direct Lithium Extraction Projects are and how one can influence those  💥 How you can Tackle the Challenge of 'Cultural Clash' with Startups by copying some of GF's tactics  🎢 Why 'Stopping' can be as Important as 'Starting' in a Business Journey - and how that's maybe the best business advice you will ever get  🌳 How we need to reinvent Sustainability in the industrial sector and how GF and others are leading the pack and showing the way  🔬 Why Ultra-Precision is the New Gold Standard in e-Mobility  🔄 How GF is Closing the Loop: From Water Reclamation to Non-Revenue Water  🚀 Why GF Believes Profitability and Sustainability are Two Sides of the Same Coin and how that translate in very concrete terms  🌍 Why Going Global is Essential in Today's Business Environment to have a substantial impact and how GF's experience and support can be game changers  📊 Why GF is Targeting Non-Revenue Water: A Look at the Future of Water Management and how GF's Clean Water Foundation is Changing Lives Across the Globe  🚀 The EV Revolution from a GF Piping Systems, Casting Solutions & Machining Solutions perspective, the Water Sector trends GF is watching out for, building a cool place to work, water scarcity as a powerful shaping for the Water Sector, what GF does to solve the pressing need for clean water in remote areas... and more! 🔥 ... and of course, we concluded with the 𝙧𝙖𝙥𝙞𝙙 𝙛𝙞𝙧𝙚 𝙦𝙪𝙚𝙨𝙩𝙞𝙤𝙣𝙨 🔥 🔗 Come say hi to Andreas on LinkedIn  🔗 Check GF's website ➡️ Check out the entire article on GF, the 222 Year Old Start Up on the Don't Waste Water Website  ➡️ Reach out to me: antoine@dww.show  More episodes in this Series: 1 - Why Water Technologies Matter in Lithium Mining (And Why You Should Buy Now!) 2 - The Shocking Requirements of Spodumene Processing (and other Lithium 101 stories) 3 - Standard Lithium's 10 Simple Secrets to DLE Success (and how that rolls out in El Dorado) 4 - How 'Reverse ZLD' made the World's Largest Water Company a Lithium Refinery Expert  5 - The Game-Changing Company with 60 Patents That's Disrupting the Battery Industry  6 - Vulcan's Clever Strategy to take off its Zero Carbon Lithium: Sell it Years Ahead! 7 - How to Eradicate Dead Zones, Cut Energy Needs by 80% and Double Lithium Selectivity 8 - How Lithium Refining & Water as a Service spark Growth for a Family Business  9 - Sustainable Lithium Production Has an Overlooked 3rd Component  10 - The 5 Rules to a Successful Direct Lithium Extraction

Andreas Müller is the CEO of GF. GF is a sustainability and innovation leader aiming to provide superior customer value across three Divisions enabling the safe transport of liquids and gases, lightweight casting components, and high-precision manufacturing technologies. If you've listened to this Season 9 of the podcast, you've noticed how we covered the lithium and water nexus topic from a wide variety of angles. We've had the helicopter view with Tony Strobbe, the project developers' inputs with Robert Mintak, Christopher Brown, Cris Moreno, and Andy Robinson, and the technology stories with Teague Egan, Devesh Sharma, Ben Sparrow, Chris Wyres, and Jim Rieke. Spoiler alert, given the success of this season and the topics we covered, we will continue the exploration as one of the topics of the next ones, so stay tuned; I'm currently interviewing more fascinating companies, and as I'm recording this, I'm about to take off to Argentina partially for that. Still, there's one aspect we had not covered so far, despite regular hints across all the episodes. Direct Lithium Extraction is a high-flow high-stakes application. Evaporation Ponds involve a lot of water as well, and when it comes to lithium refining, be it from hard rock or evaporation ponds, you've got a sizeable bunch of waterish processes, which require to convey fluids, water, and chemicals. As a process person, that's the boring part. I know it; I'm a process person. Because what can a piping system do, right? Work smoothly, and then it gets zero praise; it just exists, and nobody cares. Or not work, being blocked, leaking, becoming a hazard, and a net loss, and then everybody's aware, and everybody is pissed.  So I thought it might be worth looking into a piping system company's view on that lithium green field. To discuss how they're in to help, how, at what stage, and what they have to propose. Of course, I'm a little bit biased in that story, as I am working for a piping system company.  But there's more than just pipes, fittings, valves, sensors, engineering, prefabrication and process automation in today's episode, as I reached out to the CEO of GF to come discuss all of that on my microphone, which means not only GF Piping Systems, but also Casting Solutions and Machining Solutions, which offers an interesting glimpse into the new Electric Vehicle vertical. ➡️ Check out the entire article on GF, the 222 Year Old Start Up on the Don't Waste Water Website 

with 🎙️ Andy Robinson - President and COO of Standard Lithium  💧 Standard Lithium coins itself America's 21st century Lithium Company. They're expected to become the first lithium developer in the World to produce direct-extracted lithium at a commercial scale in El Dorado What we covered: 🌊 How a bromine plant in Arkansas is being converted into a lithium extraction mine to create a revolution in lithium production  🔋 Why lithium plays an integral role in clean energy initiatives, powering everything from electric cars to grid storage  💡 What challenges are faced when extracting lithium from natural brine, and how innovative companies are overcoming them  🌍 How Standard Lithium is integrating sustainability into its lithium extraction process to make it more environmentally friendly  ⚙️ Why Direct Lithium Extraction (DLE) may become the preferred method in the lithium industry, potentially shaping the future of the sector  🚘 What role lithium plays in the electric vehicle revolution, and why is it indispensable for battery production  💰 How we can exploit the significant financial potential of lithium production, as hinted at by industry leaders like Elon Musk (which I may still have outsmarted)  🔄 Why a full disclosure of the entire flow sheet, from resource to end-product, is essential for building investor confidence in lithium extraction  📈 What the future of lithium demand looks like, and how production companies are preparing for a potential structural deficit of lithium chemicals  🌱 How the incorporation of carbon capture technology into lithium extraction processes reduces the environmental footprint and promotes a more sustainable industry  🧪 How continuous chemical processing redefines lithium extraction methods and raises industry standards  💼 What the key factors considered by Standard Lithium are when identifying potential lithium extraction sites  👥 Why stakeholder approval and local government permitting is crucial for the success of lithium extraction projects  🏭 How the use of existing infrastructure in Arkansas simplifies the permitting requirements for new lithium extraction plants  🛰️ What a day in the life of a lithium extraction plant looks like, and what's the path of lithium from entry to final product 🔥 ... and of course, we concluded with the 𝙧𝙖𝙥𝙞𝙙 𝙛𝙞𝙧𝙚 𝙦𝙪𝙚𝙨𝙩𝙞𝙤𝙣𝙨 🔥 🔗 Come say hi to Andy on Linkedin   🔗 Check Standard Lithium's website  ➡️ Check out the entire article on the 5 rules to a successful direct lithium extraction  adventure on the Don't Waste Water Website ➡️ Reach out to me: antoine@dww.show  More episodes in this Series: 1 - Why Water Technologies Matter in Lithium Mining (And Why You Should Buy Now!) 2 - The Shocking Requirements of Spodumene Processing (and other Lithium 101 stories) 3 - Standard Lithium's 10 Simple Secrets to DLE Success (and how that rolls out in El Dorado) 4 - How 'Reverse ZLD' made the World's Largest Water Company a Lithium Refinery Expert  5 - The Game-Changing Company with 60 Patents That's Disrupting the Battery Industry  6 - Vulcan's Clever Strategy to take off its Zero Carbon Lithium: Sell it Years Ahead! 7 - How to Eradicate Dead Zones, Cut Energy Needs by 80% and Double Lithium Selectivity 8 - How Lithium Refining & Water as a Service spark Growth for a Family Business  9 - Sustainable Lithium Production Has an Overlooked 3rd Component 

Andy Robinson is the President and COO of Standard Lithium. Standard Lithium coins itself America's 21st century Lithium Company, and indeed, they shall become the first lithium developer in the World to produce direct-extracted lithium at a commercial scale in El Dorado. It's now several weeks that we're exploring together the depth of the lithium World, and we've heard quite a lot of things about Direct Lithium Extraction, or DLE. For instance, we've heard from Cris Moreno, the very recently-appointed CEO of Vulcan Energy Resources how: DLE is already commercial and accounts for 10% of the World's Lithium. And yet, you've heard many of my other guests on that microphone discuss with me how DLE is not yet commercial, and might be the next big thing, assuming it gets to that commercial scale. So where's the truth? Well, everybody's right here. What Cris Moreno refers to is that in Argentina and China, companies have been using DLE as one step of the lithium extraction process while still leveraging evaporation ponds as a sequel step.  What's still not reached yet, though, is a company or process that would be leveraging DLE and getting rid of evaporation ponds. And that is the game-changer that would unlock many more geographies and resources across the World, hence the legit excitement around it.  Now, excitement often comes as well with wide-ranging creativity, and right now, the DLE scene is blessed with blossoming companies trying out a wide range of technologies, let's face it, it's also because of that, that the lithium field is so thrilling for a water nerd like me.  But before further exploring these technical takes, I thought it would be worth following Ben Sparrow and Robert Mintak's advice and getting Andy Robinson on the microphone. Why so? Well, because if Standard Lithium is set to be the first company in the World to bring DLE to the commercial scale, without any evaporation ponds, it's probably because of him. As you'll hear in a minute, he won't admit it, and he'll refer to luck, as Robert Mintak did before him. But still, from picking the right place to go all-in on DLE, to testing out a bunch of processes from lab to demo-scale continuously over the past three years, to the next steps on the horizon from lithium carbonate to hydroxide conversion and to carbon capture, it takes a sound methodology, and a cool head approach, which can probably inspire many in that field. So without further due, let me leave the floor to Andy, to explore his 5-step rule for a good lithium project and learn from his learnings in El Dorado. ➡️ Check out the entire article on the 5 rules to a successful direct lithium extraction  adventure on the Don't Waste Water Website

with 🎙️ Christopher Brown - CEO at Helios Corporation  💧 Helios acknowledges that the World's current trajectory is unsustainable and focuses its expertise in Energy, Power, Biomass, Capital Markets, and the latest environmental technology to achieve more, using less. What we covered: 💡 How geothermal energy can revolutionize lithium extraction and how it may actually do it  ⚡️ Why the future of lithium production is tied to reducing carbon intensity and the secrets behind low-carbon lithium extraction  🌎 What the key to sustainable lithium mining is and how HeliosX is bridging the gap with eco-friendly practices  📈 How to invest wisely in the thriving critical minerals industry while still not being investment advice (hey, this is a podcast!)  🧪 How DLE technologies are reshaping the lithium extraction landscape and how groundbreaking lab experiments can give us a glimpse of the future  🚀 How long it takes from lab to commercial production, and the timeline to make lithium extraction profitable  🔋 How lithium extraction can and shall be both profitable and environmentally friendly  🌱 Green goals vs. economic reality: the real cost of an accelerated EV program and its challenges for the electrical grid.  🔄 Scaling up lithium extraction: How can companies transition from lab success to field operations? Let's break down the logical steps  🤝 Collaboration in the critical minerals industry: the ideal partners for driving positive change and their shared philosophies.  🌍 Impact metrics that matter: how to contribute to economic development and low carbon intensity while integrating the human dimension  💰 Investing in critical minerals and the associated risk, the winning formula to sustainable mining, how revolutionizing battery production is a race, the next big thing, first nations, zooming out before we zoom in… and much more! 🔥 ... and of course, we concluded with the 𝙧𝙖𝙥𝙞𝙙 𝙛𝙞𝙧𝙚 𝙦𝙪𝙚𝙨𝙩𝙞𝙤𝙣𝙨 🔥 🔗 Come say hi to Christopher on LinkedIn  🔗 Check Helios Corporation's website ➡️ Check out the entire article on How Sustainable Lithium Production Has an Overlooked 3rd Component on the Don't Waste Water Website ➡️ Reach out to me: antoine@dww.show  More episodes in this Series: 1 - Why Water Technologies Matter in Lithium Mining (And Why You Should Buy Now!) 2 - The Shocking Requirements of Spodumene Processing (and other Lithium 101 stories) 3 - Standard Lithium's 10 Simple Secrets to DLE Success (and how that rolls out in El Dorado) 4 - How 'Reverse ZLD' made the World's Largest Water Company a Lithium Refinery Expert  5 - The Game-Changing Company with 60 Patents That's Disrupting the Battery Industry  6 - Vulcan's Clever Strategy to take off its Zero Carbon Lithium: Sell it Years Ahead! 7 - How to Eradicate Dead Zones, Cut Energy Needs by 80% and Double Lithium Selectivity 8 - How Lithium Refining & Water as a Service spark Growth for a Family Business 

Christopher Brown is the CEO and co-founder of Helios Corporation. Helios acknowledges that the World's current trajectory is unsustainable and focuses its expertise in Energy, Power, Biomass, Capital Markets, and the latest environmental technology to achieve more, using less.  Over the past episodes, we've discussed why we need more lithium, where to find new sources, and how to unlock them from a technical standpoint. We've discussed fascinating projects and drawn a line toward a more sustainable future for the decade to come. But sustainability isn't only environmental and financial impact; it's also the human dimension. And even when lithium is literally found in deserts, those places still belong to someone and to a culture, and they historically had a role and use that wasn't lithium extraction for several centuries.  That is true wherever you are on earth, from South America's first nations to Canada ones, through local communities in all the places where unconventional sources of lithium are to be mined in the future. Everything in life can be done against someone else or instead in concertation. And to that extent, what we discuss with Christopher today offers a framework for comprehension, best practices, and way forwards.  As I mentioned in my intro, when Helios acknowledges that the World's trajectory is unsustainable, it's also important to ensure that the remedy is better than the plague. So sustainability is a keyword, for sure, and an ambitious one. From Argentina to Canada through the US, today's exploration is one of the deepest we've had in this mini-series, and I'm really thankful to Christopher for the incredible openness he demonstrated and the great pedagogy you'll get to experience in just a second. Right before that, let me remind you that if you like what you hear, you can help others benefit from it by sharing this episode with a friend, a colleague, your boss, or your team, thank you from the bottom of my heart, and I'll meet you on the other side! ➡️ Check out the entire article on How Sustainable Lithium Production Has an Overlooked 3rd Component on the Don't Waste Water Website

with 🎙️ Devesh Sharma - CEO at Aquatech  💧 Aquatech helps the world's most recognized companies solve important water challenges such as lithium refining, desalination or food and beverage. What we covered: 💡 How Aquatech is a Private Powerhouse in Industrial Water Treatment You Need to Know About  🏗️ How Aquatech delivers complex projects and how they tackle challenges in remote locations  🌟 Why Being the Best Matters More Than Being the Biggest: Aquatech's Winning Philosophy   🤝 How Aquatech and Ecolab Join Forces in a Strategic Partnership and how the company maintains a balance as a middle-sized global player  📈 Impact Metrics Unveiled: Aquatech's CEO Shares the Key to Their Success   🌍 Energy Transition and Green Revolution: How Aquatech is Shaping the Future, and how that involves lithium endeavors  🏭 How Aquatech won North America's most-awaited lithium refining contract at Thacker Pass and how they won Lithium America's confidence on the way  🎯 Planning for Success the Company's Short to Medium-Term Goals   🚀 Game-Changing Projects: From Trash to Jet Fuel - Aquatech's Mind-Blowing Endeavors   💧 Water Technology-as-a-Service: The Future is Here, and Aquatech Leads the Way   🔮 How Reuse and Digital Revolution might be The Next Big Trends in Water  💬 Aquatech's Secrets to Effective Communication and Recruitment, and how you could Join the Aquatech Family - exciting endeavors ahead?   💰 The importance of in-person connections, multitasking overload, ensuring modularity, creating memorable moments for employees - that feel like family, identifying the right growth opportunities, measuring impact... and much more!  🔥 ... and of course, we concluded with the 𝙧𝙖𝙥𝙞𝙙 𝙛𝙞𝙧𝙚 𝙦𝙪𝙚𝙨𝙩𝙞𝙤𝙣𝙨 🔥 🔗 Come say hi to Devesh on LinkedIn  🔗 Check Aquatech's website ➡️ Check out the entire article on How Lithium Refining & Water as a Service spark growth for a Family Business on the Don't Waste Water Website ➡️ Reach out to me: antoine@dww.show  More episodes in this Series: 1 - Why Water Technologies Matter in Lithium Mining (And Why You Should Buy Now!) 2 - The Shocking Requirements of Spodumene Processing (and other Lithium 101 stories) 3 - Standard Lithium's 10 Simple Secrets to DLE Success (and how that rolls out in El Dorado) 4 - How 'Reverse ZLD' made the World's Largest Water Company a Lithium Refinery Expert  5 - The Game-Changing Company with 60 Patents That's Disrupting the Battery Industry   6 - Vulcan's Clever Strategy to take off its Zero Carbon Lithium: Sell it Years Ahead!   7 - How to Eradicate Dead Zones, Cut Energy Needs by 80% and Double Lithium Selectivity 

Devesh Sharma is the CEO of Aquatech. Aquatech helps the world's most recognized companies solve important water challenges. There's a fine line between risk-taking and putting all you have at stake, between perseverance and obstinacy, and between grit and recklessness. And it's only when the dust settles that you'll know on which side of the line the ball decided to fall. When I started my career in the water industry, veterans were telling me: keep your fingers off the industrial market. It's a "who's the cheapest" game, and they're so short-term-minded that it's depressing. Yet, at the same time, these veterans opted out of the industrial game; Aquatech was created as an almost pure-play dedicated to that very specific end of the market. Risk-taking or putting all you have at stake?  A couple of decades later, and long before it was hype, that same Aquatech ventured into Water as a Service to speed up the adoption of its technologies. Perseverance or obstinacy?  And while the world of Water consolidates in a fashion we've probably never experienced before, Aquatech trusts it can keep growing and build its path as a private, family company. Grit or recklessness? Well, I don't have all the answers, but what I can tell is that as the dust settles, the industrial end of the Water Market is the one thriving right now, as it's faced with the hottest challenges ever, which in turn generate new opportunities.  And as Devesh will explain in a minute, 30% of Aquatech's revenue today comes from its Water as a Service; said differently, they have a 30% - probably high-margin - annual recurring revenue with a plan to expand it to 50%. That's a ratio that kind of turns a hardware company into a software/tech type of play. And with that mix, Water suddenly becomes a much more scalable business - as we've seen with Gradiant recently turning into the water sector's first unicorn.  Well, Gradiant and Aquatech are certainly not the same, but they have similarities in the technologies they develop and the markets they serve. And Gradiant claimed its unicorn status, thanks to a 225 million dollar series D raised at that billion-dollar valuation. I'm throwing Gradiant in the discussion here because we're debating the possible next steps for Aquatech with Devesh today.  And my napkin calculations and estimates indicate to me that Aquatech is probably already a unicorn, given its revenue mix, proprietary technology, and turnover somewhat double of Gradiant's. Take it with a pinch of salt; none of these companies are public, so it's pure guestimates. Now, I mention dust settling, and I'm using that metaphor on purpose. Because Aquatech was chosen by Lithium Americas to build the lithium refinery at its upcoming Thacker Pass lithium mine, which is extracting this "While Oil" from clay, so settled dust. And Aquatech has the perfect portfolio to take on this 2020s challenge because it tripled down on industrial water and zero liquid discharge since the 1980s - something we'll dive into much deeper with Devesh in today's conversation.  Finally, I think Aquatech's story is inspirational on many more levels. It's also the tale of a family business, taken to its today's shape and successes by two brothers that were respectively 24 and 14 when they took over. So let me avoid spoiling everything, and leave the floor to Devesh, just after reminding you that if you like what you hear, please take this episode and share it with a friend, a colleague, your boss, or your team, and also don't forget to subscribe. ➡️ Check out the entire article on How Lithium Refining & Water as a Service spark growth for a Family Business on the Don't Waste Water Website